A couple of weeks ago, journalists on the New York Times business desk began smelling meat from Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in the Times Building. [Update: I’m told this has been a problem for a long time. A Times spokesperson tells NYMag.com: “This odor is an issue, one that seems to occur seasonally at around this same time each year.”] The lingering odor of cooking steaks – dubbed “the meat cloud” by Times employees — caused burning eyes and breathing issues for some staffers, reports the New York Newspaper Guild. (The union tells me about a dozen people were affected.)

The Times worked on the ventilation system, but the smells still got in. The area was then tested, and industrial hygienists reported there were no carcinogens or other harmful elements in the workspace. The Times now plans to seal the newsroom windows above the steakhouse.

“This is being considered a ‘quality of life’ issue and not a health concern,” says the union. “Nonetheless, Times managers have temporarily relocated the people who felt the effects of the fumes and said they would look into moving others if need be.”

Guild president Bill O’Meara tells me: “We also had a complaint of bacon smells on the other side of the newsroom. Of course, I said, ‘What’s wrong with that?'” The bacon odors – coming from Schnippers – aren’t a big deal, adds O’Meara, and no complaint has been filed with the Times.

Matthew Power, who died on Monday while on assignment for Men’s Journal, pitched his Uganda trip as “a classic MJ story.”

The magazine says the 39-year-old journalist “was a true adventurer and a principled, ethical journalist who never failed to put the accuracy of the story and the fairness in his depiction of a person, place, or situation above what worked for him as a writer.”

Harper’s in particular let me really expand and experiment with my voice, and is still one of the very few venues that will give a writer the space and freedom to tell a story the way it deserves. I think my first piece for them, on a village in rural India poisoned by pesticides, ran 11,000 words. And since then I’ve written probably 70 long feature stories for various magazines. …

The logistics of arranging travel, finding good translators and fixers, and reporting stories through a filter of language and culture can be difficult, but it’s absolutely never boring. The biggest challenge is likely internal, in one’s own self-criticism: am I asking the right questions? Am I doing justice to this story, and to this person’s experience?

Respondents were subjected to different news articles that were written either by a journalist or were software-generated. The respondents were then asked to answer questions about how they perceived the article — its overall quality, credibility, objectivity, etc. …

While the software-generated content is perceived as descriptive and boring, it is also considered to be objective although not necessarily discernible from content written by journalists. The paper discusses the results of the study and its implication for journalism practice.

* Starbucks, IHOP and other companies that should have writers’ residencies. (flavorwire.com)
* Gawker asks a judge to toss Quentin Tarantino‘s lawsuit. (hollywoodreporter.com)
* Winners of the Excellence in Health Care Journalism awards have been announced. (healthjournalism.org)
* Ryan Chittum: A letter from death row backfires on Gawker. (cjr.org) | John Cook to Chittum: The suggestion that Gawker runs letters from death row inmates for clicks “is galactically stupid and uncomprehending.” (@johnjcook)
* Jill Abramson has been going to her son’s “music things” at South by Southwest. (wwd.com) | The New York Times executive editor and son Will Griggs: (instagram.com)
* Wall Street Journal editor Gerard Baker: “I’m no Stephen Hawking, but…” (xcity-magazine.com) | The Journal adds “native advertising.” (ft.com)
* Author Joe McGinniss is dead at 71. (washingtonpost.com) | newyorker.com)
* McGinniss in October: “One of the things of which I’m most proud is … I’ve never once written ‘albeit.'” (jimromenesko.com)* “Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder (left) plans a TV comedy series called “Black Jesus.” (mije.org)
* Just fill in the blanks and your spring training story is ready to run. (espn.go.com)
* Allison Klein: “As a [Washington Post] news reporter, I was always running in 10 directions, even before kids. After kids it was 20.” She decided to stay at home. (washingtonpost.com)
* B.S. threat: CBS chief Les Moonves says his network could go all-Internet if Aereo wins. (cnet.com)
* Daniel Lippman: “@5:25 a.m., I’m now the only reporter on the Hill covering the all-night Senate debate on climate change.” (@dlippman)
* Baltimore Sun cuts ties with conservative blog Red Maryland. (mediamatters.org)
* Claim: The Advocate – not the Times-Picayune – is now “the journal of Mardi Gras.” (myneworleans.com)